City of Kelowna looks to spruce up its brand

The City of Kelowna will unveil a new corporate brand this fall, complete with a new logo and possibly a catch phrase.

According to contractor Phred Martin of Splash Design, the company defining this new message, the brand should paint an image of Kelowna similar to what the I “heart” New York campaign has done for New York City.

“It’s to come up with a common language, but also it’s that ‘this is what this city is trying to become known for’ thing,” said Martin, explaining the brand should define the municipality in the same way a company’s brand signifies its image.

As such, a new logo is definitely on the way, with strict guidelines as to when and how it can be used, but the city is still in discussions over whether a slogan or catch phrase will accompany it.

“There’s a couple of things that are still kind of up in the air on that,”’ said Martin. “They’re re-looking at their mission and vision statement, and then when they’re done with that we’ll decide, does the city need one?”

The new brand will be applied to all city entities to ensure people understand what falls under the city’s umbrella. Many people might not realize, for example, SportKelowna and the YMCA fall within the municipality’s realm of responsibility, and city manager Ron Mattiussi says he believes it’s important to make that clear.

In order to develop the new messaging, Martin’s company needed to find out exactly what the people of this city think of their home.

They had city hall employees fill out a survey, conducted 55 one-on-one interviews with everyone from Vonnie Lavers at the food bank to radio personality Dirtman from Power104.

“I’ve been designing for 21 years and I’ve come to realize it’s important to find out what we’re trying to say as opposed to how to say it,” he said.

Their research revealed that people think of Kelowna as a small business town where you can ski and golf in the same day, that our airport helps set us apart from other areas of the valley and that we’re still seen as California north.

The Ogopogo image however, is seen as dated.

If there is a weakness; however, it’s that the city is experiencing a housing crisis.

jsmith@kelownacapnews.com